If you could do anything in the world, what would you do? 

“What if” is a powerful question. What if I followed my dreams? What if things worked out? What if I make the wrong decision? There is a famous Lewis Carroll quote that says that, in the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take. Tina Pettigrew knew following her dreams was risky, but it was riskier for her to live a life that didn’t fulfill her. So, she took the chance. 

After finding martial arts when she was 27 — think, much older than the age most pros get into the sport — something inside Tina clicked. MMA became a huge part of her life. Her “big girl” job was doing marketing and communications at the company I worked at. In fact, she was one of my direct reports by the time she decided to leave to pursue becoming a professional fighter. I sit down with Tina to talk about her journey, her thought process and all the things she’s learned about herself through martial arts. 

Tina Pettigrew is a professional mixed martial artist and coach. At an age when many people hit their professional stride, Tina chose to leave her marketing and communications career to pursue one in professional sports. She has a BA in Health Science from the University of Florida and a Masters in Bioethics from NYU. Tina has fought for professional organizations including Combate Global, Fearless Woman MMA, and Invicta Fighting Championship — and she holds one professional and two amateur titles in the women’s 135 lb division. 

Tina currently lives in San Diego, CA and teaches all the martial arts disciplines, including wrestling, jiu jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, MMA and self defense to every age group, starting as early as 3 years old.

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